It’s remarkable how quickly a so-called title challenge can be brought to an end. After weeks of fielding questions over Chelsea’s ability to push Liverpool all the way in the race to be crowned Premier League champions, Enzo Maresca has probably seen his side’s hopes extinguished in the space of two games.
The Blues followed a frustrating goalless draw with a stubborn Everton team in wet and wild conditions on Sunday, December 22, with an agonising sucker-punch defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day, as Rodrigo Muniz slotted home a 95th-minute winner for their west London rivals.
Chelsea’s festive mini-slump has seen them slip to third in the table and – in all likelihood – out of a title race they were only on the fringes of in the first place, proving Maresca’s insistence that they ‘aren’t ready’.